WASHINGTON

The US Department of Veterans Affairs announced Monday that it will reduce its total staff by nearly 30,000 by the end of this fiscal year.

"While VA had been considering a department-wide RIF to reduce staff levels by up to 15%, employee reductions through the federal hiring freeze, deferred resignations, retirements and normal attrition have eliminated the need for that RIF," the department said in a statement, referring to a reduction in force.

The agency said it had roughly 484,000 employees on Jan. 1, 2025 and 467,000 employees as of June 1, 2025 -- a reduction of nearly 17,000.

The agency expects an additional 12,000 employees to exit by Sept. 30.

“Since March, we’ve been conducting a holistic review of the department centered on reducing bureaucracy and improving services to Veterans,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins in a statement.

"A department-wide RIF is off the table, but that doesn’t mean we’re done improving VA," he added.